Freestyle Skiing 2018/Men's moguls
Format The competition exists out of two separate rounds. The qualification consists out of two rounds, both conducted on two separate days. In the first round of the qualifications, every athlete receives a score based on a single performance, after which the ten best scores qualify for the final rounds. The remaining athletes go down the slope once more three days later, to receive another score. The ten best scores (in either run) advance to the final as well. The final consists out of three rounds of a single run, with after every round a selected amount of athletes advancing to the next round. After three rounds (with 20, 12, and 6 athletes, respectively), the winner is decided based on the best run in the third round of the final. Preview Thirty athletes qualified for the event and the man to beat was Mikael Kingsbury. Having won a record amount of World Cups, as well as a recent 13 consecutive wins streak, he was ready to upgrade his silver medal of 2014 to the next level. His biggest challenger might be Dmitriy Reikherd, the veteran who had finished on the podium on seven occasions in the previous season, although the only man to have beaten Kingsbury was Japanese Ikuma Horishima, who won the gold medal at the World Championships. Several outsiders, who had shown great performances during the previous season, were Matt Graham, Sho Endo, and Bradley Wilson. Walter Wallberg was the only athlete born after 1 January 2000. The oldest participant Nobuyuki Nishi, who was almost 15 years older, was one of five athletes to have competed at least twice before 2018, with the others being Anthony Benna, Sho Endo, Dmitriy Reikherd, and reigning bronze medalist Aleksandr Smyshliaev. Kingsbury and Smyshliaev won medals in 2014, while the brother of Bradley Wilson Bryon won the bronze medal in 2010. Summary Qualification Mikael Kingsbury exceeded the expectations, topping the leaderboard after the first round of qualifications, advancing to the final, with more than two points difference with reigning bronze medalist Aleksandr Smyshliaev and almost five points difference with veteran Dmitriy Reikherd. Olympic debutant Troy Murphy received the fourth-highest score, while the Japanese skiers Ikumi Horishima and Daichi Hara were on course to become Asia's first Olympic medalists in men's moguls, being the only other two skiers to receive more than 80 points, closely followed by Pavel Kolmakov. With Philippe Marquis, Matt Graham (world's number 3), and Sacha Theocharis rounding off the top 10, the remaining 20 athletes would have to prove their value in the second round of the qualifications. The home crowd were able to cheer for Korean Choi Jae-woo, who managed to get the third-highest score of the qualifications, ensuring himself of a place in the finals, while Vinjar Slatten took revenge for his fall in the first qualifications, settling on second place of the remaining athletes. Casey Andringa and Bradley Wilson improved on their score in the first qualification, although both would see them through to the finals, while Marc-Antoine Gagnon kept his dreams alive of improving his fourth-place finish in 2014. Veterans Anthony Benna and Sho Endo managed to slip through with their previous scores, while Jimi Salonen caught up on Nobuyuki Nishi to go to the final round, as well. James Matheson completed the top 10, while youngster Walter Wallberg missed the finals by only 0.14 points. Finals The first round of the final would have the top 12 competitors advance to the final, and the quality of the competitors' skill was high, with 5 scores above 80 points, lead by Japanese Sho Endo. Matt Graham, Daichi Hara and world's number 1 Mikael Kingsbury were closely contested by each other, only 0.12 points between Graham and Kingsbury, while Casey Andringa was the only other athlete to receive 80 points, almost a point ahead of Kazakh Dmitriy Reikherd. Ikuma Horishima was the third Japanese athlete to advance to the second round of the final, while Marc-Antoine Gagnon and Pavel Kolmakov were the second Canadian and Kazakh to advance, respectively. With twelve athletes remaining, the field would be cut in half, only six athletes advancing to the last and final round. Circumstances were difficult, with a heavy wind, and this could be recognized in the scores. Sho Endo, Ikuma Horishima, and Choi Jae-woo weren't able to finish their run, while the third Japanese, Daichi Hara, topped the leaderboard, Mikael Kingsbury close behind. With Casey Andringa and Matt Graham the other athletes to score over 80 points, they became real contenders for the medals, while Vinjar Slatten and Marc-Antoine Gagnon were the other two competitors to advance. In the final round of the competition, Kingsbury was able to receive the highest score of the entire competition, while Graham confirmed his position on the world ranking, in absence of second-ranked Reikherd, who failed to qualify for the third round. Daichi Hara managed to become the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic medal in men's moguls, with a difference of more than five points with fourth-placed Gagnon, who once again finished fourth, just like he did four years before. Results Freestyle Skiing 2018/Men's moguls/StartList|Startlist Freestyle Skiing 2018/Men's moguls/Qualification1|Qualification 1 Freestyle Skiing 2018/Men's moguls/Qualification2|Qualification 2 Freestyle Skiing 2018/Men's moguls/Final1|Final 1 Freestyle Skiing 2018/Men's moguls/Final2|Final 2 Freestyle Skiing 2018/Men's moguls/Final3|Final 3 Freestyle Skiing 2018/Men's moguls/Standings|Standings||true Category:Pyeongchang 2018 Events Category:Freestyle Skiing 2018